My First Book is Nearly Complete!

I’ve been horribly remiss with my blogging duties here on WickedBlog. I hope to do better in the near future, but I’ve filled my schedule so full I’m not sure how successful I’ll be.

I’m going to try my hand at NaNoWriMo again this year (my previous attempt is thankfully left far, far behind since it was an abysmal failure). I’m in the midst of the final revision of my book (not a novel — that’s next) and I hope to have it in ebook format and in distribution channels by November. (Wish me luck!)

It has occurred to me that despite the horrible state of the economy (both personal and national) that I’m enviably close to having all my dreams come true. I always wanted to live in a little cabin in the woods and write for a living. *Granted!* I’ve been in the cabin for almost a year now (it will be by the end of this month) and I’ve been making my money by writing and marketing for a dozen years. The thing is, I STATED the dream wrong, and it’s time to fix that.

I MEANT to say, “I want to live in my little cabin in the woods and write creatively — preferably in the form of novels — for a living.” You have to be soooo careful when you fling your desires out into the universe. You have to be sooooo specific! 😉

I really want to write and publish novels. My first book, Surviving Shangri-La is not a novel, it’s a non-fiction piece that traces my first two years on the farm. It’s been quite a challenge to pull it all together, write it and (especially) edit and revise it. I’m learning TONS about ebook publishing as I begin to explore the technical end of this type of formatting and distribution. It has been quite a little journey (and I’m just getting started!)

But for now, aside from doing my client work, raising my daughter, cooking/cleaning/grocery shopping… I’m committing to writing 1,000-2,500 words four days a week, two blogs per week (one here and one over on livingsmall), reading two books per week (one fiction/non-ficton and one on the craft of writing) and organizing my book collection (in all formats).

Maybe at that rate I can finally get through the stacks and stacks of writing books I’ve collected over the years, sort out the good from the bad, and toss those that don’t belong on my reference shelf. I tend to collect writing books when I’m not writing. I tend not to read them when I am. I’m ready to stop collecting and seek inspiration more actively. Besides, staring at them every day — noting that they are getting dusty — makes me feel like a lousy student of the craft.

I’m also working steadily to clean out my regular bookshelves. This one has been tough, especially since I decided to READ all the books before making a determination. I’ve read 17 books since the beginning of last month! Some were pure fluff, some were a bit more substantial. I’m keeping a list of all my “reads” over on LivingSmall.com.

Simultaneously, I’m organizing my ebook library – pulling up ancient ebook files that I’ve collected and stuffed away for years. I troll for ebooks with the same delight I look for new apps in the iTunes store. It’s sad, really. It’s an addiction. I need a 12-step-program.

Maybe the effort and work required to pull down metadata and a decent cover for every ebook I own (and the additional work of converting them all to a single format — epub) will serve to discourage future bouts of indiscriminate downloading. I’ve committed to doing this at a rate of 20 per day, five days a week. With that schedule, I may be finished organizing my ebook library sometime before the end of this decade. In the meantime, I’ll be creating a great little library where no duplicates (my GOSH I have a ton of duplicates!) will be permitted. I’ll choose the best version — like the Alice in Wonderland with the beautiful full-color lithographs properly rendered — rather than the .txt version of the same book. I’ll also have a great way to load up my iPad with the books I want.

Overall, I’m getting my “writing life” in order. I’m organizing, dedicating my time and DOING the things that a serious writer should do. I’m making it a priority, not the “guilty pleasure” it’s always been, one comprised of stolen moments here and there, usually late at night or in the wee hours of the morning.

It’s working. I’m producing. Who knows, I may even share some short pieces on here from time to time. It could happen!

Writing online since 1999. Visit her at WickedWriter.com. Angela specializes in real estate topics for brokers, agents, and homeowners. She also writes articles for small business owners and entrepreneurs to help them succeed in their businesses and online. Visit her blog at WickedBlog and Follow her on Google+

5 Responses to "My First Book is Nearly Complete!"

Good luck with NaNoWriMo this year! I’m attempting it for the first time, and I’ve been warming up this month by writing 750 to 1500 words/day this month. I know actually writing my novel will be MUCH more difficult, and I’ll need to write more words, but I’m going to try anyway!

I have read On Writing — a couple times. In fact, I just finished it a second time and added it to my list of recent reads over on http://www.livingsmall.com (where I attempt to keep an up-to-date list, but have let it fall into ancient history lately.) Thank you for your words of encouragement. I appreciate it!

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